Over in the UK, British finance minister John Healey is due to announce his first Budget on Wednesday - but people aren't feeling optimistic.

Households and businesses are struggling to cover all their costs, and another winter full of rising energy bills is looming.

UK correspondent Enda Brady claims minimum wage is set to go up for younger workers, but this won't be good news for businesses.

LISTEN ABOVE

Over in the UK, British finance minister John Healey is due to announce his first Budget on Wednesday - but people aren't feeling optimistic.
Households and businesses are struggling to cover all their costs, and another winter full of rising energy bills is looming.
UK correspondent Enda Brady claims minimum wage is set to go up for younger workers, but this won't be good news for businesses.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Enda Brady: UK correspondent ahead of Chancellor John Healey presenting UK 2026 Budget

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/d7489058-783f-4e3e-8e7b-b4f00079042b/transcript

The Awakino Gorge on State Highway 3 is set to close again tonight for nine consecutive nights, but there's hope for a way forward.

The route has been closed several times over the past year due to storms and adverse weather conditions, causing delays and detours for drivers. 

National Road Carriers Association CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers is feeling hopeful - as this closure was planned so contractors could install a retaining wall at the site of a major slip.

"Short-term pain for hopefully some longer-term gain and fewer closures."

LISTEN ABOVE

The Awakino Gorge on State Highway 3 is set to close again tonight for nine consecutive nights, but there's hope for a way forward.
The route has been closed several times over the past year due to storms and adverse weather conditions, causing delays and detours for drivers.&nbsp;
National Road Carriers Association CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers is feeling hopeful - as this closure was planned so contractors could install a retaining wall at the site of a major slip.
"Short-term pain for hopefully some longer-term gain and fewer closures."
LISTEN ABOVE

Justin Tighe-Umbers: National Road Carriers Association CEO on the latest closure of the Awakino Gorge

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/949d25c1-db17-4c26-8a03-b4f000762177/transcript

The gap between the two major parties has narrowed again, leaving people speculating about how the election could go.

According to the latest 1News-Verian poll, National has dropped to 29 points and Labour is holding steady on 27.

Meanwhile, the Greens have dropped to 15, ACT is on 12, NZ First has gone up to 10 and Opportunity has fallen to 6. 

The Country's Jamie Mackay unpacked the results further.

LISTEN ABOVE

The gap between the two major parties has narrowed again, leaving people speculating about how the election could go.
According to the latest 1News-Verian poll, National has dropped to 29 points and Labour is holding steady on 27.
Meanwhile, the Greens have dropped to 15, ACT is on 12, NZ First has gone up to 10 and Opportunity has fallen to 6.&nbsp;
The Country's Jamie Mackay unpacked the results further.
LISTEN ABOVE

Jamie Mackay: The Country host unpacks latest 1News-Verian poll results

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/fa8eb235-e7f5-4f39-8f6b-b4f00072f850/transcript

Okay, you want to know what a party sounds like when it's preparing to lose an election? Check out Labour.

They've started to ramp up their complaints about so-called voter suppression. Now, to be fair, this is not a new complaint. It's been going on all campaign. It goes back more than a year. But it really went up a level with Ayesha Verrall complaining that the first day of voting would fall on a public holiday and that "it's all adding up".

Then, a former Labour Party staffer who worked in the Beehive and now writes a column for the Sunday Star-Times published one with the headline: "The disturbing sense this year's election might be illegitimate", citing a range of concerns, including the overhang strategy.

And then Trevor Mallard, who we know is tailing Chippy this election to make sure he sits up straight and, you know, gives Mike Hosking a bit of aggro, tried to vote at the same place in Wainuiomata where he voted for the past 19 years. When it wasn't open, he told the media:

"It is looking like the voter suppression you expect from Trump, or in India or Hungary, not here in Aotearoa."

Now, I think it's fair enough for the Labour Party to complain about National's decision to cut off early enrolment because that was always going to reduce the vote on the left. Young people, who tend to vote left, also tend to leave things to the last minute and were probably going to get caught out by it.

And the decision hasn't actually stood up to scrutiny.

But it is one thing to complain about that, and it is quite another to cobble together all these other complaints about a public holiday and an overhang strategy that National itself is trying to stop. That looks a lot like making excuses in advance for why they're going to lose the 2026 election.

Which is a little dangerous if it risks undermining public confidence in the system at a time when confidence in institutions is already waning.

LISTEN ABOVE

Okay, you want to know what a party sounds like when it's preparing to lose an election? Check out Labour.
They've started to ramp up their complaints about so-called voter suppression. Now, to be fair, this is not a new complaint. It's been going on all campaign. It goes back more than a year. But it really went up a level with Ayesha Verrall complaining that the first day of voting would fall on a public holiday and that "it's all adding up".
Then, a former Labour Party staffer who worked in the Beehive and now writes a column for the Sunday Star-Times published one with the headline: "The disturbing sense this year's election might be illegitimate", citing a range of concerns, including the overhang strategy.
And then Trevor Mallard, who we know is tailing Chippy this election to make sure he sits up straight and, you know, gives Mike Hosking a bit of aggro, tried to vote at the same place in Wainuiomata where he voted for the past 19 years. When it wasn't open, he told the media:
"It is looking like the voter suppression you expect from Trump, or in India or Hungary, not here in Aotearoa."
Now, I think it's fair enough for the Labour Party to complain about National's decision to cut off early enrolment because that was always going to reduce the vote on the left. Young people, who tend to vote left, also tend to leave things to the last minute and were probably going to get caught out by it.
And the decision hasn't actually stood up to scrutiny.
But it is one thing to complain about that, and it is quite another to cobble together all these other complaints about a public holiday and an overhang strategy that National itself is trying to stop. That looks a lot like making excuses in advance for why they're going to lose the 2026 election.
Which is a little dangerous if it risks undermining public confidence in the system at a time when confidence in institutions is already waning.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Do Labour's complaints about early voting stand up to scrutiny?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/b0ab49f1-acbc-4f43-824c-b4f0006fdb91/transcript

Enda Brady: UK correspondent ahead of Chancellor John Healey presenting UK 2026 Budget

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